Hotel Grand Tirana

... army to various victories against the Turkish empire. <br>On the road from the bus station (stop) there is a street of wooden shops (that ironically looks very turkish and was selling predominantly turkish goods!).

... Each time it had to count down from ten and not once did she get upset. It must have been my American charm or something, right? Can you imagine ******** up a machine at Wal-Mart? That is one 500 pound clerk I don't want to mess with. After about five minutes I finally had my banana. You know what though...I can't even stand bananas back home in the US, but for some reason I am craving them over here. Weird, huh?<br><br>Albania...what can I say. It is ...

... Washington didn't win the war; Las Vegas did. The petrol stations are named 'Castrati'. I like that. Back in my room it's mostly EmpTV in the local dialects with France's TV5 alone among the multi-nationals, so I brush up on my French. At least I've got wi-fi in my room. With only $2 in local currency to buy food, I don't have much of that. No matter, I'll get more across the border, in Macedonia on the way to Sofia, Bulgaria. See you there.

... des usa dans la region est-il un bienfait sans menace? -l'union europeenneest-elle vraiment la solution a tous les problemes?` ah oui, j'allais oublier: le qui-pro-quo: depuis mon arrivee ici, je demande au proprio de l'hotel de me dire ou je pourrais acheter de la musique classique traditionnelle albanaise...i il en a deduit que j'etais un compositeur et il a arrange un souper ce soir avec un fameux musicien albanais et moi... a suivre.

... stamp would never be issued. It was evident from the expression on the girl's face that my explanation had brought nothing but confusion to the proceedings. As she flicked through the pages of my passport a second time she was able to deduce that not only had I no proof that I was in Italy but I was also missing a visa for Albania. Explaining that Irish citizens didn't need a visa for Albania resulted in a call having to be made to the capital, Tirana. The poor girl, I was really ...

... differently in Albania. The going out culture is entirely male focused. After dark, you barely even see women walking in the streets. In Tirana it's acceptable for women to be out after dark if they are accompanied by a man, but no where else. Cafes, bars, and clubs are men-only establishments. But in that regard there also isn't much of a drinking culture. You never see people drunk in the streets. An Albanian is much more likely to go ...

... my shame as the son of a geography professor, I don't have the foggiest idea where Albania is, nor any cities or places of interest in it. In fact, I only know two things about Albania. The first is that they are involved in this Kosovo dispute, but I don't know the details. Someone else can sort that out. The second is that, around the start of the twentieth century, international cricketer and world long jump record holder CB Fry was, bizarrely, offered the ...

... in Tirana want lots of money- the medical system like education and politics in very corrupt. Trevor tells us later how many hospitals are now insisting everyone has a caesarean because they get more money for it. If they make a mistake (as seems to happen too often), they wont take responibility for it. To get the best treatment/get a bed for the night etc, you need to bribe people. In schools you can buy your high school diploma/degree, as you can with driving licenses (slightly ...

... sites in 5 minutes. Its all on the main square. I walked a bit around the outskirts. Did my washing trying to get the bugs out of my clothes. Unsuccessful effort! Had dinner round the corner of the hostel at like 10pm. I walked in and just went omg. I didnt know what to eat. So i asked for a Qofta. It has like this elongated meat balls in bread. Not bad. But there was a communication fault and i got to much of everything. They asked if i wanted cheese. I got these 2 massive ...

... i think that after this week i will begin to appreciate the smaller luxuries in life a little more, like heat at night, running water at night, regular toilets that werent just holes in the ground and so on and so forth. so that is just the general overview of our time there. i will get you some pictures later on because my internet time is up so god bless you all. Joshua